Piedmont High School

Both my daughters have had good to great experiences at the school. They're both quirky and don't follow the crowd but have made friends and found wonderful teachers that support them. Every department has great teachers who work hard and care deeply. The Mandarin teacher is a treasure. The journalism program is the crown jewel of the school. Mock trial is also great. The track community is really supportive and brings together all sorts of kids (some insanely great athletes and some just there to have fun.) The robotics is supposed to be exceptional, but is still 75% boys.

I have had two daughters attend Piedmont schools: kindergarten through high. Both loved & thrived in elementary. The elder was miserable in and socially withdrew from middle and high, and is now happy & thriving elsewhere. The second liked middle, but may not have been developing into her best self. Gifted, she was not challenged in high, and then socially ostracized, and had to switch schools. She is now happy, well adjusted, challenged and likeable. I worry about the impact of Alameda's covid-19 social bubble order, potentially further solidifying excluding some kids in already precarious and challenging social situations in Piedmont. It's really not the place for everyone.

My experience at this school has been overall very negative. It caused me to become very stressed. This has deprived me of sleep and free time. When I was playing a sport I would get home, work on homework till carpool time. Then I would get back a few hours later and work from then till around 11 or 12. This worsened my health because I didn't have time to sit down and eat dinner with my family. This school is built for a student who is very smart, hardworking, and someone who is unfazed by extreme stress.

Positives: This school has a rigorous academic environment; kids who love a challenge will find themselves enthralled in their schoolwork and will score well on state tests. There are a couple of truly excellent teachers and a variety of classes to choose from.Negatives: The social environment at this school is toxic. Many students have known each other since they were young, so kids who move in after 6th grade tend to have a difficult time adjusting. Counseling at the middle school is horrible, and across both the middle and high schools, dealing with social issues is not something done proactively but something done once something very bad has happened (i.e. the FSL, hate speech/threats, etc). Time and time again I have been thoroughly disappointed with the way things were handled by the administration, and the major thing students, parents, and the administration is focused on is success; how good you are as a person is irrelevant. That is personally not my way of dealing with things; while I love a good challenge and love learning, I believe a non-hostile environment is crucial to kids who are growing up and people should value the way they treat others, and that's just not something you'll find here if you haven't been here your whole life.